Lanier project going to board

Friday

Sep 15, 2006 at 11:29 AM

By WILLIAM KEESLER The Dispatch

Business and real estate owner Ardell Lanier takes his application for a major development permit for a commercial/residential center at West Second Avenue and South State Street to the Lexington Planning Board on Monday night.Lanier proposes to build a $1.5 million to $2 million, two-story, 21,000-square-foot brick complex with eight business condominiums on the ground floor and eight residential condominiums on the second floor.The project has attracted interest from advocates for Uptown Lexington because it would provide second-floor residential development in the central business district - a longtime goal of the Uptown Lexington organization.But homeowners in the historic residential neighborhood of which the 0.85-acre site is also part became concerned when Lanier tore down a Masonic Lodge and two adjacent houses to make way for the development without meeting with them first.Nearby homeowners will probably attend the planning board meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in the council chambers in Lexington City Hall."I've seen pictures, I've seen the application, but there are lots of unanswered questions," Cal Cunningham, who owns a home on West Third Avenue, said Thursday night."We're interested in a constructive dialogue about the project," Cunningham said.The site has been completely cleared and leveled and awaits whatever development the city approves. Lanier's daughter, Ann Lanier Easter, said this morning that they have a list of 16 or 17 people interested in buying the residential condos and also have received interest, but no commitments, on the commercial units.City and Uptown Lexington officials initially tried to convince Ardell Lanier to wrap the building around the corner of West Second and South State and place all parking behind the structure. Lanier, however, wants to run the building parallel to South State and perpendicular to West Second, with 37 parking places for the commercial units in front and 14 parking places for the residential units behind."I like the result we have now better," city Community Development Director Tammy Kepley said Thursday. With the commercial and residential parking divided, the building will provide better transition from the central business district to the historic residential neighborhood and there will be less adverse impact on residential properties both in the development and nearby, she said.The project has been reviewed by a city staff Development Review Committee and a staff Technical Review Committee, which has recommended endorsement of the development by the planning board.The planning board will make a recommendation to the city council, which is expected to hold a public hearing next month before deciding whether to issue the permit.Lexington lawyer Stephen "Bit" Holton is representing Lanier in the matter. At 212 S. State St., on a lot that adjoins the proposed development, Holton's brother, Frank "Chip" Holton III, owns a house that he uses as an art studio and that Lanier has reportedly offered to buy.Late Thursday afternoon, however, the back of the house was lined with scaffolding and Chip Holton said he had decided to renovate the structure."I'm staying," Chip Holton said. "In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., I will not be moved."Coincidentally, nearby residents have scheduled a neighborhood picnic on Sunday evening, the night before the planning board meeting. The Lanier project is expected to be the No. 1 conversation topic at the picnic, residents said.William Keesler can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 221, or at bill.keesler@the-dispatch.com.